I don’t know about you, but I’ve always wanted to know why our eyelids twitch.
I have this issue a lot, especially during times of extreme stress. I once worked as a corporate event planner and during one specific event each year my eye would twitch the entire time. It got to be a funny part of the process. When my coworkers saw my eye twitch, they’d say, “Must be time for the big conference again!”
Naturally my eyes (in their now “untwitched” state) caught this article that helped explain the causes. Among them were:
“Stimulants from products such …read more

Obesity rates in the US continue to go up, up, up! And we all know what that means. So will all the medical conditions and diseases that accompany obesity. High blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes to name a few.
So, what states topped the list? By the way, this is not the list to be bragging about! Anyway, Mississippi has won the gold on this one. They are now considered the most obese state in the US with over 30% of persons meeting the criteria. Alabama and West Virginia took second and third …read more

The future of heart surgery may involve this little caterpillar-like robot called HeartLander. It inches along on the surface of your heart and is capable of performing:

ablation for atrial fibrillation
lead placement for biventricular pacing
delivery of myocardial regenerative treatments

Watch the videos and learn more at Guardian Unlimited. Is it just me or does it look really huge and awkward stomping on the pig heart?!

Over the weekend, singer Don Ho died of heart failure. He was 76.
Publicist Donna Jung said the singer died Saturday morning of heart failure. He had suffered with heart problems for the past several years and had a pacemaker installed last fall. In 2005, he underwent an experimental stem cell procedure on his ailing heart in Thailand.
Here’s a video tribute to Don Ho.

Need an organ transplant? All it takes is money and the willingness to take risks. Buying an organ, however, doesn’t guarantee a long, healthy life. I’d be afraid of any infectious diseases that may come from purchased organs but sometimes you have to choose the lesser of two evils. Here’s how much a heart would cost you in various countries around the world.

Colombia – $90,000
China – $130,000 – 160,000
South Africa – $290,000
South Korea – $290,000
Taiwan – $290,000
Singapore – $290,000

I wonder why the most common price is $290,000. Perhaps a body broker effect.
via Wired

Welcome to Saturday! Seems like it would be an appropriate time to let you know that if you can control yourself, don’t have a heart attack this weekend. Come to think of it, if you can control yourself that well, don’t have a heart attack at all.
A study of New Jersey hospitals between 1987 and 2002 has found that heart-attack patients on the weekends were more likely to die one day after admission. The effect continued at one month, six months, and a year later. One reason given for their higher mortality rate is that doctors are less …read more

If discontinuing anti-clotting medication after receiving a coated stent is a bad idea, wouldn’t it be better to get a stent that dissolves after a certain period of time? Some good reasons to get an absorbable stent:

You’d avoid having a foreign body inside your heart
The absorbable stent is more flexible and conforms to the shape of the coronary artery
A lower risk of late-stent thrombosis
Less potential scarring
Avoid the hassles a metal stent causes with CT and MRI scans

I’ve previously written about the Abbott XIENCE V Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System and today’s news is, I believe, …read more

Uncle Sam wants you to take care of your heart.
Start by reading A Hearty Life!
Image created using hetemeel.com via Mary at That Damn PC!

Everywhere I turn on the Web, I see advertisements for Goji juice and now I see another berry juice that promises to help prevent atherosclerosis – sea-buckthorn berries. Indian researchers have developed a technique to produce sea-buckthorn juice that is high in anti-oxidants, flavonoids, and vitamin C.
British Heart Foundation nutritionist Sara Stanner:
The pulp oil also contains unsaturated fatty acids and plant sterols, which could help to reduce blood cholesterol levels.
In addition, there is evidence that sea buckthorn juice might help to protect ‘bad’ cholesterol from oxidation, a process which is involved in the development of coronary heart disease.
The oil has …read more

Our second letter in the Dear Doctor series comes from Aaron Brazell, tech manager extraordinaire who hasn’t got a minute to spare.
Dear Doctor,
Why do you make me wait to see you? Don’t you know my time is as valuable as yours?
Aaron
/me gets out the time calculator
Have you got a Dear Doctor letter to share? Email me!